Mike Tomlin Had ‘Great Meeting’ with George Pickens About On-field Frustrations

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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Saturday that he had positive conversations with wide receiver George Pickens after Pickens expressed frustration during last week’s 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots.

Speaking to Bob Labriola of the Steelers’ official website, Tomlin explained that he spoke to Pickens about the fact that the Patriots intentionally try to deny players the ball and take them out of the game plan in an effort to frustrate them:

“He and I had a great meeting this week. We were just talking about the New England agenda. I’m familiar with the agenda because I’ve just been a component of it in the past. When you have a dynamic player, oftentimes from a game playing perspective, you’ll pick a block of time or block of plays where you’re just going to deny that guy the ball and make others beat you. And the agenda is to keep the ball out of the hands of a significant player, but also if it’s a significant player it’s to create angst within him and within that unit.”

Tomlin went on to add that he and Pickens talked about why it is so important to not let that type of game plan distract him from doing his job on the field:

“And so there’s an education component that comes with it in terms of managing frustration. Certainly it’s easy to say, ‘Be mature. Don’t get frustrated. It’s part of the game.’ But he needs to understand it is an agenda. It is a game plan. It is something that’s constructed to break him and the unit down. And that’s why it’s so important that he manages the frustration component of it.”

The second-year player, who who appeared upset on the sidelines and didn’t look to be giving 100 percent on the field at times, finished with just five receptions for 19 yards in the loss.

Per Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, Amazon Prime Video announcer Kirk Herbstreit called out Pickens’ lack of effort at one point during the game, saying: “He’s kind of taking the play off. I think it sends a message to me, to your team. I look at receivers when it comes to their willingness to block and the effort that they’re willing to put forth. It kind of represents the pulse of the team. Bad look.”

According to Noah Strackbein of Fan Nation, Tomlin called Pickens’ actions “a problem” because they were not “solution-oriented.”

Meanwhile, Pickens defended himself, saying: “It ain’t really fun losing. I don’t really know what reaction you guys would expect.”

It was a crucial loss for the Steelers, who are in the thick of the AFC wild-card race and dropped to 7-6 on the season in defeat.

Pittsburgh was at home and favored to beat a Patriots team that entered the game 2-10 and started backup quarterback Bailey Zappe.

As much as the Pats have struggled this season, head coach Bill Belichick still knows how to coach up a defense, as New England has surrendered an average of just 11 points per game over its past four contests.

The Steelers started a backup quarterback in their own right, as Mitchell Trubisky played in place of Kenny Pickett, who is on the shelf with an ankle injury.

Despite having a winning record, the Steelers have been a mess offensively this season even when healthy, as they ranked 28th in the league with 16.2 points per game.

Pickens, who had 52 receptions for 801 yards and four touchdowns last season as a rookie second-round pick, leads the team this season with 49 grabs for 767 yards and three scores.

The Steelers and Pickens will have a chance to put last week’s shortcomings behind them Saturday when they go on the road to face an Indianapolis Colts team that is also 7-6 and batting for a playoff spot in the AFC.